Western Colorado University stewards a special gift into the future.
Looking around the forty acres of prime wetland habitat Wynn and Ryan Martens recently donated to Western Colorado University, you can almost feel the pressure coming in from all sides.
The neat grid of quarter-acre lots in Crested Butte comes right up to the western boundary. To the east, the residential communities of Skyland and Riverbend aren’t far beyond an unbroken stretch of willows and meadow grass. You can see cranes (not the flying kind) on construction sites to the north, where massive mountain retreats are going up like row houses. To the south, there’s the Community School, which seems to be in a periodic, if perpetual, state of expansion.
But here, during a June 27 dedication of what’s historically been – and will continue to be – known as Verzuh Ranch, things are mostly quiet, except for the birdsong and some thunder rumbling in the distance. This is one of the last holdouts in a place where the pressure to build can feel relentless.
Verzuh Ranch really is a refuge.
A collaborative Conservation Effort
According to Pat Magee, Professor of Wildlife and Conservation Biology at Western, at least 93 species of birds call this land home for a period of every year—some stay year-round. Ungulates like deer and elk come to the valley to give birth and graze. Small mammals skitter through the waist-high grass, which is irrigated with standing water that seeps into underground aquifers.
From now on, in addition to being a priceless habitat, Verzuh Ranch will be an outdoor classroom and learning laboratory where Western’s faculty and students can conduct research and study the complex interactions that take place here.
It will also continue to be a place where the community can gather to bask in the beauty of the Slate River valley and enjoy the recreation path that runs through the meadow. In his remarks at the ceremony, Magee reminded everyone that the values that make Verzuh Ranch a special place will continue to guide the management of the land into the future.
“The invitation [to the ceremony] we sent out wasn’t just an invitation for today. It’s an invitation to be partners with us as we move into the future. We want this to be a place where we can work together, learn together, and celebrate this amazing place together,” he said. “As you look around, you can see a lot more beautiful land here. One of the things that makes Verzuh Ranch so valuable is how it connects to this larger landscape. It’s getting eaten up slowly but surely. So this is very precious and is going to be incredibly beneficial to this community and the earth as well.”
During the dedication ceremony, Ernest House, Jr., who served as executive director of the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs for more than a decade and is a registered member of the Ute Mountain Ute tribe, gave a land acknowledgment and a blessing for the land and the people. He spoke of the ancestors who spent time in high mountain valleys like the one where Verzuh Ranch is located.
“These valleys continue to hold our songs and our ceremonies. We weren’t here all the time … but you can see why places such as this have a calling to us. Not just because we love looking at these mountains, and these valleys, and the river systems, but we truly believe it touches something in our soul and connects us,” he said. “And even though you might not be Ute … I still believe there’s that connection.”
Ensuring a Legacy of Education and Conservation
Connection is one key to successful stewardship of the land. Now that Western has taken over ownership and management of the property, Magee and the other members of Western’s Verzuh Ranch Advisory Board are planning to implement a collaborative management model involving the University and the community.
In addition to becoming a place where faculty and students can conduct research and study the interactions between wildlife and its habitat, the board plans to partner with a local rancher to introduce sustainable, regenerative grazing practices to mimic the movement of large ungulates on the land.
Soon, interpretive signage will be installed along the Recreation path to help visitors learn more about what they see when they walk across the property.
“We’ve had a great partnership with Western during the past five years, as their research has guided our stewardship decisions for the property and taught us about the critical role these wetland habitats play in the survival of wildlife,” Wynn Martens said. “We are excited that, as the new owners of Verzuh Ranch, Western will be able to expand that research and develop new educational opportunities.”
You can learn more about the Verzuh Ranch donation to Western and how the property will benefit students for generations to come here.
Author credit: Seth Mensing
Photo credit: Kate Wasson
